A curious story is going the rounds of the Tokio Pross. Ite gist is th The 8.8. Company called Kisen Kaisha, whose vessels be ired some time ago to purchase the five steamers of the: Pacific, Mail Com-any which ply on the same route, mut the negotiations di owing tothe high price demanded by the latter company. Subsequently Mr. Harriman came upon the scene and offered to sell the steamers, whereupon the directors of the Toyo Kisen Kaisha took steps preliminary to raising a loan of twenty million yer in London and also sent Mr. Shiraishi to the States to discuss di But in the meanwhile American news. papers learned of the project and wrote number of articles vehemently denouncing it aa opposed to the interests of the nation. Mr. Harriman, th fore, inatoad of concluding the deal, made application to Congress for subsidy, on the ground that hi could not possibly compete of two companies which are of substant Toyo Kisen cher Lloyd, He declared that unless a subsidy were granted he would sell the steamers in his possession, and since nothing could be done pending the decision of Congress Mr. Shiraishi wont on to London where he had other business to transact, Theroafter Congress apparently refused the subsidy, for Mr. Harriman again opened negotiations with the Toyo hi again the San rthquake having occurred, the transaction had to be suspended. It is suggested that the offer to sell to the Japanese company may have been simply 8 manquvre for influencing public opinion in the States. Such is the story in brief. We can neither confirm nor deny it, but two remarks are obvious. One is that the Toyo Kisen Kaishs can scarcely have requir-od twenty million yen to purchase five steamers of the kind now lying beat present framed do not permit the hypothecation of steamers as security for a dobt.—" Japan Mail."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.